The Maccabaean

(Concluded.)

NOW we will pass over to Bickerman. He sets forth against Zionism the following objection: History proves that no state can be artificially formed; Zionism invites the Jewish mass to a road of greatest resistance, while it is known that the masses move naturally only along the course of the least resistance; Zionism is a purely negative movement, brought forth by Anti-Semitism; Zionism is a reactionary and dangerous movement; the realization of Zionism would destroy Judaism as such.

We will consider separately each objection:

"The universal history," says Bickerman, "knows of no case, of any group of people—a family, a race of people, or a group, suddenly taking a notion into their heads to create a state, and with such an idea in their minds create a state. In the ancient times as well as in the newer times states appear as the result of activity of human masses, but never did this serve as the means of their activity."

As a proof of his assertion, Bickerman sets forth the immigration of the Pilgrim Fathers into the New World, from whom later arose the United States and the great immigration of people; neither the Pilgrim Fathers nor the barbarians ever thought, according to Bickerman, of creating new states, but simply went in search of means to satisfy their daily necessities, along a course of the least resistance. If their settlements developed into states, this happened of itself, not after a consciously designed plan.

In reply to Bickerman it would suflice to state, that the past cannot always serve as a criticism for the future. It could also be demonstrated to him that in the past not only large states, but separate cities arose as the result of human activity and not as the aim of it. Moved by their needs along a

course of least resistance people settled in a given place, erected mud huts, wigwams, and in the course of a few centuries a city arose. Two hundred years ago, Bickerman could assert that history does not record any occasion when a people took a notion all of a sudden to create a city and created it; never theless Peter the Great took it into his head to erect, in the midst of a swamp, a city and erected it. In our times, it is a well known fact, in North America, "artificial" cities arise one after the other at the will of some enter prising company or some rich individual. One could also point out to Bickerman different unions or companies formed between private citizens sometimes as the result and not as the aim of human activities. Any popular book on sociology will remind Bickerman of how, unconsciously moved by common inter ests, separate individuals rendered each other support against those citizens, whose interest were inimical to their own and how out of this natural mutual assistance, gradually de veloped the modern trusts, syndicates, profes sional and party unions. Nowadays such organizations arise as an acknowledged aim, and not as a result.

Furthermore, Bickerman's attention should be called to the fact that the former results are in modern times gradually becoming the aims. Humanity became wiser, and now profits by the previous experiences. Perhaps the first dam arose accidentally; a landslide blocked up the current and the river overflowed; man noticed this and next time he purposely dammed up the river. The tradition is that gunpowder was invented as an unintentional result of the fact that Berthold Schwartz, the monk, innocently pounded sulphur, saltpetre and charcoal in a mortar; now inventors work for years with a predetermined object, to find X-Rays, to create a gramophone, and they succeed in it.